This year started off with an absolute thud. For the first four months there was absolutely no film released that was worth a damn. Then we got a couple excellent films and then the summer hit and then fall came around and now it's just like any other year: It starts out like a wilderbeast looking to take a dump and ends with a massive flying rhino type wilderbeast flying through the air humming Beck. So basically I think the year has been pretty good. I have yet to see Take Shelter, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy or Ides of March so my lists may be somewhat lacking. There is no absolute best film of the year, no clear cut I should say, like last year. These lists should really just be entertaining to see what other people thought of the year. I believe that some movies will benefit from being on this list, if only for the handful of people who care what I have to say.
Best Films of the Year
15. The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo
Minor Fincher. Why he did this is beyond me, the only obvious thing would be a cash grab, but I won't judge the man. Although he is doing 30,000 leauges under the sea so we could be seeing the last of the Zodiac/Social Network Fincher. This is an extremely well crafted thriller, with some great acting. The story is sensational, and it is not all that original, that is to say it's somewhat of a run-of-the-mill serial killer movie. What Fincher brings to it is a very good investigation aspect and a tone that is lacking from the first. Rooney Mara is the film though, she is the reason that this movie is one of the years best and that is because of Fincher's devotion to her and his own style of directing.
14. Hanna
What can you say, it's a fairytale with guns. It's fun, which is something this year definitly had, a lot of fun movies. The movie is great to look at and the scenes with the family that she runs with are a lot of fun.
13. Midnight in Paris
Woody Allen is Owen Wilson is Woody Allen is seeing Ernest Hemingway and is banging Rachel McAdams. This movie is great if you're an literature fan, although if you're not I don't know how well this movie will work for you. But I loved the two hours I got to spend with this nice movie.
12. The Adventures of Tin Tin
This is an adventure. And we don't get adventure films anymore. I love set pieces and Spielberg does them brilliantly. Watching this film is like watching the ambitions of every big budget summer blockbuster. But their ambitions are never even close to reaching Spielberg's minor work, which this is but it is still better than most of the action movies that come out on a yearly basis.
11. Attack The Block
Alien invasion at it's finest. Funny, exciting, beautiful, fast paced. It's going to be watched by me probably 100 times before I turn 40.
10. Rango
Same thing as Attack the Block. The animation is great and the humor is perfect. Lot's of references, lots and lots. Once Upon a Time in The West's score is one the best.
9. Moneyball
Well exucuted, well acted. The first movie that I realized that Brad Pitt can be an actual "actor." I'm really excited to see Bennett Miller's career. He seems to be great with slow building dramas and has a knack for pulling out performances.
8. A Dangerous Method
Cronenberg delivers what he has for the last 30 years, but not really. It is so subtexted and so brilliantly directed that after repeat viewings I think this will hold up as one of his best.
7. Contagion
So perfectly crafted. Get some hand sanitizer afterwords, trust me.
6. Meek's Cutoff
The best film Reickhardt has done. I can't wait to watch it on Blu Ray. Meek is a genius, in my opinion. It starts out quite slow but once you get into the rhythm it is an excellent thriller, set in the west.
5. The Descendants
I think the movie is not perfect and it may be trying too hard at points but the emotional response is overwhelming and the last half hour is really something amazing. I like everything Alex Payne has done and he continues to hone his own brand of filmmaking, which is not flashy but very poignant.
4. Shame
Steve McQueen will be the best director working in about 4 years. Trust me, he has something special. If you see this movie try to think about it as a study in self destruction not sex addiction. This movie may be looked back on in 10 years as one of the best of the decade and a turning point for the independent film scene.
3. The Tree Of Life
Yes there are some problems with the movie but it is so ambitious and so monumental in it's scope that I litterally felt like I was jabbed over the head after watching it. In a good way. The existential aspect of the film is what makes it so interesting to watch and that mix with the images is what will make it hold up over time.
2. Hugo
Scorsese is back baby, this is his best movie sense maybe After Hours. "Fun" is a word I would use to describe this movie but it really has so much depth that it transcends fun. The craft of the movie is also something to behold, I hope many children love this and find a way into film through the magic of this movie.
1. Drive
The best movie this year. It's got ambition, and it's got execution. It is so original in an unoriginal package(heist/gangster movie). I just can't think of a movie where I felt the power of the cinema more. Yes Tree of Life has dinosaurs and a beautiful score but Drive has such a flawlessly executed hour and a half that I never realized I was in a theatre. There is not a lot said for the last five minutes but it truly is astounding. As is the direction, the acting and the soundtrack. I mean the title track that is used twice is so original and different and strange and bold. I just love the movie and watching this on Blu Ray is my most anticipated release for 2012.
Honorable Mentions:
Win Win. Super 8. Page One: Inside the New York Times. Senna. ROTPOTA. Earth liberation Front. Film Socialism. Young Adult. Mission Impossible - Ghost Protocol.
Best Performances
1. Michael Fassbender - Shame/XMen/A Dangerous Method/Jane Eyre
2. George Clooney- The Descendants
3. Charlize Theron - Young Adult
4. Rooney Mara - The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo
5. Brad Pitt - Moneyball/The Tree of Life
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